27 People Injured in Shooting in Turkey

TEHRAN, April 29 (ICANA) – At least 27 people have been injured after an armed man opened fire on a group of people at an election meeting in Turkey's southern city of Samandag.

Friday, April 29, 2011 12:51:02 PM

A parliamentary candidate from the main opposition Republican People's Party was injured during the shooting incident which took place on Thursday at an election meeting ahead of the parliamentary elections set for June, Anatolia news agency reported.

Reports say at least two of the victims are in critical conditions and Turkish security forces are searching for the gunman who managed to flee the scene.

The shooter, who has been identified as a convicted criminal, reportedly used a pump-action hunting rifle in the incident.

Meanwhile, Refik Eryilmaz, the parliamentary deputy from the opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, who was injured in the incident condemned the attack, and said it was fortunate that there were no fatalities.

"Everyone must keep their presence of mind. Social peace is more important than everything else," said Eryilmaz, who is undergoing treatment in the Samandag State Hospital.

Last week, Turkey's elections board ruled that more than half of the independent candidates it had previously barred from running in national elections set for June were eligible to run for the parliamentary elections.

The Supreme Board of Elections had previously ruled that dozen politicians were ineligible to run in parliamentary elections in June due to their criminal records.

Most of the candidates had prior convictions over ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.